Genesis 4:12

Genesis 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."
• New King James Version (NKJV)When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

Context of Genesis 4:12

10Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! 11So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! 14Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”

Genesis 4:12 word by word

כִּ֤י תַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה לֹֽא־תֹסֵ֥ף תֵּת־כֹּחָ֖הּ לָ֑ךְ נָ֥ע וָנָ֖ד תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה בָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whenכִּיkîy · forH3588
• thou tillestעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: labourH5647
• the groundאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• it shall not henceforthיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
• yieldנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• unto thee her strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
• a fugitiveנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• and a vagabondנוּדnûd · to wanderH5110
• shalt thou be in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for Genesis 4:12

• Genesis 3:17And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life.
• Leviticus 26:20and your strength will be used up for nothing. Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.
• Deuteronomy 28:23The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
• Romans 8:20For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope
• Genesis 4:14Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”
• Leviticus 26:36“I will put anxiety in the hearts of those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a wind-driven leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as one flees from a sword, and fall though no one is pursuing them.
• Deuteronomy 28:65You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit.
• Psalms 109:10Let his children wander as beggars, searching for food far from their demolished homes.
• Jeremiah 20:3The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Terror Is on Every Side,
• Hosea 9:17My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they will become wanderers among the nations.

Commentaries on Genesis 4:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be - Thou shalt be expelled from the presence of God, and from thy family connections, and shalt have no fixed secure residence in any place. The Septuagint render this , thou shalt be groaning and trembling upon the earth - the horror of thy crime shall ever haunt thee, and thou shalt never have any well-grounded hope that God will remit the punishment thou deservest. No state out of endless perdition can be…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-16Verses 1-16 - Section IV - The Family of Adam - Cain and Abel 1. קין qayı̂n Qain (Cain), “spear-shaft,” and קנה qānah “set up, establish, gain, buy,” contain the biliteral root קן qan “set up, erect, gain.” The relations of root words are not confined to the narrow rules of our common etymology, but really extend to such instinctive usages as the unlettered speaker will invent or employ. A full examination of the Hebrew tongue leads to the conclusion…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-15Verses 8-15 Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, and impenitence of Cain. He denies the crime, as if he could…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12Like his father (see 3:9–12, 17–19), God asked Cain questions before he judged him (4:9–10). Adam's sin had already caused the ground to be cursed. Now Cain was cursed and driven away from the land he had farmed because he had polluted it with innocent blood. a fugitive and a wanderer: God sentenced Cain to endless wandering in a land that offered neither food nor safety. The consequences of sin were becoming worse.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1211-12. now art thou cursed from the earth--a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 4:12

• Abel
• Cain
• Curse
• Homicide
• Judgments
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Abel
• Adam
• Agriculture
• Blood
• Cain
• Call
• Cursed
• Fall
• Fat
• Fugitive

Commentaries on Genesis 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings